To speak of leading those Central Plains grandmasters on a thousand-mile raid to assassinate the old woman of the Northern Wilderness—not only would those grandmasters be unwilling, but it was also utterly impractical.
For one, the best example was when the master of the Qijian Music Mansion, the Princess Tomb’s “Little Thought,” and Tiemudier led a group of Northern Wilderness grandmasters into Youzhou’s borders, only to be ambushed and annihilated. With Tuoba Pusa’s current flawless Heavenly Realm, the combined aura of eighteen grandmasters would be like a candle in the dark—easy prey for the Northern Wilderness. They could dispatch a dozen elite light cavalry units, each ten thousand strong, lying in ambush, with Tuoba Pusa leading a group of martial grandmasters as the vanguard. By then, they might not even reach the Western Capital, leaving only Xu Fengnian and Deng Tai’a to retreat.
More importantly, with the Northern Wilderness’ 400,000-strong army pressing forward, if Jubei City fell, the Northern Liang cavalry would be like a tree without roots or water without a source. Losing the last gate beyond the pass would not only endanger Northern Liang’s three provinces but also leave the entire northwest frontier of the Central Plains wide open. Even if Xu Fengnian and the grandmasters managed to break through Tuoba Pusa and the Northern Wilderness cavalry’s encirclement, how could they pinpoint the old woman, who had chosen to hide her identity? She wasn’t a Land Immortal, nor even a first-rank martial artist, making it impossible for Xu Fengnian to track her through martial qi.
Meanwhile, at Jubei City—which absolutely could not fall—the young Prince Xu Fengnian had no retreat.
Xu Fengnian could not retreat.
The other seventeen grandmasters refused to retreat.
Thus, they fought tooth and nail to secure the current situation for Xu Fengnian and Jubei City.
Yu Xinlang of Wudi City, Lou Huang, Wei Miao of Nanzhao, and Chai Qingshan of Dongyue Sword Pool—they fought to the death to block the Northern Wilderness’ flanking cavalry from raining arrows upon Jubei City’s walls.
Wu Liuding of the Wu Family Sword Tomb and his sword attendant Cui Hua, along with Xu Yanbing behind them, held their ground.
Nanjiang’s Mao Shulang and Longgong’s Ji Liu’an, reinforced by Wudang’s Yu Xingrui, fought desperately to delay the Northern Wilderness’ infantry from reaching Jubei City’s walls.
At the rear, Cheng Baishuang and Xue Songguan struggled to hold back the Northern Wilderness’ archer formations and over two thousand catapults bombarding Jubei City.
The Northern Wilderness lacked neither warhorses nor cavalry, boasting the finest mounted archers in the world.
What they lacked were skilled siege infantry!
Xu Fengnian and the Central Plains grandmasters behind him, including the white-robed Luo Yang, were all doing one thing—trading their lives to maximize the Northern Wilderness’ infantry losses.
Clearly, the Northern Wilderness realized this too. They swiftly mobilized Murong Baoding and Zhong Liang’s private cavalry, elite riders, and the Spider Web’s death squads, along with their entire martial world, throwing everything into the fray.
“We’ll trade our entire Northern Wilderness martial world for your dozen-strong martial world. If that’s still not enough, we’ll add our steppe cavalry!”
Many Northern Wilderness soldiers recognized the white-robed figure—Luo Yang, hailed as the Northern Wilderness’ top demonic path grandmaster. In a land that revered martial prowess, she was seen as a defiant hero.
Yet, Huyan Daguang never appeared, and this great demon chose to stand with the enemy as a Central Plains grandmaster. The nearby Northern Wilderness cavalry felt helpless but refrained from drawing blades against the infamous Luo Yang.
Xu Fengnian’s hesitation in battle—his failure to decisively kill the Northern Wilderness crown prince—left Duan Mao Deng with a pang of regret.
Deng Mao wished he could tell the young man, “Xu Fengnian, you could have died more heroically.”
In Deng Mao’s eyes, this caution—unbefitting both a grandmaster and the Prince of Northern Liang—only bought Xu Fengnian a few more moments of life, or perhaps forced Li Mibi to pay a steeper price.
Luo Yang stood quietly two hundred paces behind Xu Fengnian.
Suddenly, a young knight in a face-concealing helmet emerged from Yelü Hongcai’s Kheshig guard, charging past the banner and the crown prince before slowing his horse to gaze down at the young Prince Xu Fengnian.
He raised his arm, slowly removing his helmet to reveal an unremarkable face—save for a pair of eerie golden eyes.
As the young knight made his move, the circular clearing around Xu Fengnian receded like a tide, revealing seven or eight Northern Wilderness riders who remained in place.
Xu Fengnian, standing on the arc, suddenly found himself in a much larger clearing.
The golden-eyed knight spoke hoarsely, “Xu, we meet again.”
Xu Fengnian smiled. “Yi Jie Liu, Li Fengshou?”
The knight grinned savagely. “Good eye!”
Once, in the heart of the Central Plains, this genius swordsman known as “Yi Jie Liu” had hunted the “Hehe Girl” alongside the Spider Web’s leader, Lao E, and Murong Longshui of the Northern Wilderness royalty.
The other two escaped, but Li Fengshou had been bisected by Xu Fengnian—then still the heir—and should have been long dead.
The young knight, rumored to be Li Mibi’s bastard son, glared at the prince. “Your Liyang has a grand formation to deal with Land Immortals. Our Northern Wilderness is a dynasty built on horseback. Surely you realize that after ascending to the Land Immortal realm, we had to create this seemingly insignificant secret formation just for you. But I’m curious—why aren’t you running? Waiting to die?”
Xu Fengnian glanced back at Luo Yang, who immediately retreated without hesitation.
Li Fengshou leaned forward slightly, eyeing the once-feared demonic leader with regret before shrugging. Killing the young prince guarding the northwest frontier would be worth the monumental effort.
In an instant, Li Fengshou vanished from his horse.
Simultaneously, the other riders—showing no prior signs of qi fluctuation—suddenly blazed with blinding white light, streaming from their seven orifices and armor.
The next moment, Xu Fengnian raised his Liang Blade horizontally—only for the resurrected Li Fengshou to grip it with one hand, his other behind his back.
Li Fengshou, once barely a Finger Profound realm fighter, now wielded power rivaling a Land Immortal!
Around Xu Fengnian and Li Fengshou, twelve Northern Wilderness knights—radiating white light—dismounted and stood in a circle, one directly before Crown Prince Yelü Hongcai.
Twelve men, twelve temporary Land Immortals.
Twelve, arms outstretched, their light forming a ring—like a coiled white dragon.
Li Fengshou grinned savagely, lightning crackling around his fingers gripping the blade. “Die,” he whispered.
Xu Fengnian slashed horizontally, cleanly severing Li Fengshou’s head—no blood spilled, the corpse collapsing like a dried husk.
Then Xu Fengnian looked up—only to see a blinding white light.
Like a full moon crashing into the mortal world!
Outside the circle, Li Fengshou reappeared beside Yelü Hongcai and Deng Mao, his eyes normal but his body torn and mangled.
Yet the young man ignored his shattered body and soul, grinning in triumph. “Even if my martial path ends here, it was worth it!”
The sun rose over the eastern sea.
The moon fell upon the mortal world.
In less than half an hour outside Liangzhou’s borders, both wonders appeared.
On Jubei City’s walls, countless Northern Liang soldiers could only watch as a pillar of light—thick as a mountain—slammed down onto their young prince’s head!
※※※
Behind the Northern Wilderness army, Yelü Dongchuang and Spring Nabatu Tuoba Qiyun stood on a watchtower.
The former marveled, “Is this His Majesty’s trump card?”
Tuoba Qiyun exhaled heavily, slamming the railing in rare exhilaration. “Mission accomplished!”
Few knew that this grand scheme was Tuoba Qiyun’s brainchild.
Suppressing his murderous urge, Yelü Dongchuang smiled curiously. “Spring Nabatu, care to enlighten me?”
Tuoba Qiyun hesitated, then—flushed with pride—explained, “You know of the fallen immortals who landed in the southern border states?”
Yelü Dongchuang nodded, eyeing the other’s profile with envy.
Tuoba Qiyun continued, “Those were just embellishments. Even without them, the Northern Wilderness’ martial fortune could have produced four or five Land Immortals. Since my coming-of-age at Qijian Music Mansion, I’ve advised His Majesty on one thing…”
He paused, smirking at Yelü Dongchuang’s shifting expression. “Why do you think our vast steppe never had more than three Land Immortals? Why did Huyan Daguang leave for the Central Plains? Why did we only send cavalry—not top grandmasters—to intercept that demonic path leader? Why did the National Preceptor, the Qilin Sage, ascend before the first Liang-Mang war?”
Yelü Dongchuang had no answers.
Tuoba Qiyun laughed. “The mighty Fifth He of Tibing Mountain died at Finger Profound—strange, no? If the Qilin Sect’s fortune was monopolized by Yuan Qingshan, stunting others’ progress, that’s understandable. But why couldn’t our Qijian Music Mansion—teeming with talent—break through? The answer is simple: if Huang Sanjia could scatter fallen kingdoms’ fortunes into the martial world, why can’t we merge our martial fortune with our dynasty? Using martial sects is one thing; merging their fortune with the empire is foolproof!”
Catching himself, Tuoba Qiyun sobered. “Just know that to suppress Xu Fengnian, His Majesty paid an immeasurable price. So this Prince of Northern Liang died fittingly!”
Yelü Dongchuang rubbed his chin. He didn’t care if Xu Fengnian’s death was “fitting”—only that this scheming Spring Nabatu would one day die just as “fittingly.”
Suddenly, Tuoba Qiyun’s eyes widened in horror.
Following his gaze, Yelü Dongchuang felt awe—and a dark thrill.
In troubled times, what great deeds could scholars achieve?
※※※
The heavenly pillar descended with such speed that even Xu Fengnian—one of the top four grandmasters—couldn’t escape the celestial prison.
Twelve Northern Wilderness Land Immortals, united!
Among them, three were immortals Xu Fengnian had struck down. One sneered, “A mere mortal, daring to defy heaven! Did you think we’d be so weak?”
The four strongest—anchoring the cardinal directions—were unlike the others. They were true heavenly envoys, akin to Tuoba Pusa’s divinely granted power.
The one facing Xu Fengnian boomed, “Xu Fengnian, why resist?”
At that moment, across both the Central Plains and the Northern Wilderness, all looked up to see the white “waterfall”—like a fishing line from heaven.
Most saw only a slender thread.
But for Xu Fengnian, it was a crushing pillar of divine judgment.
An immortal cast his line, with the shore above the clouds and the water reflecting the mortal world.
Within the pillar of light, Xu Fengnian knelt on one knee, his left hand gripping the cold blade, its tip pressed against the ground without piercing the earth. His princely robes remained untouched, rippling only slightly as his body trembled.
The connection between heaven and man had been severed. Xu Fengnian was not just deaf, mute, and blind—his very spirit had been stripped away. His celestial physique could not withstand the crushing weight of the heavenly light, barely holding together despite the cracks spreading through his form.
Kneeling, his head bowed, Xu Fengnian’s sword arm shook violently. From his seven orifices and his brow, eight streams of energy poured out like writhing white serpents.
Deprived of all senses, he instinctively pressed his right palm against the ground, trying to rise, as if lifting an invisible burden to continue forward.
Behind him, the being who had descended into the mortal world sneered, “Our steppe cavalry will breach the passes and unify the Central Plains—this is the inevitable tide of fate. Yet you, Xu Fengnian, dare to stand alone against heaven’s will? How laughable!”
To his left, another celestial crossed his arms and laughed, “I already see the steppe’s eagle perched upon the rooftops of the Central Plains’ libraries!”
To his right, a third celestial shook his head slightly, silver eyes brimming with mockery and pity. “For a single region to muster strength surpassing even the Great Feng Empire and trouble our warriors so greatly—your Northern Liang is indeed impressive.”
Compared to the Northern Mang’s hidden cultivators, who had already crumbled under the light, these four celestials and three exiled immortals endured far longer.
Growing impatient with the young prince’s defiance, the three exiled immortals exchanged glances, then nodded in unison, willingly dispersing their forms.
The pillar of light surged violently, pressing Xu Fengnian’s shoulders down further.
※※※
Drenched in sweat, Tuoba Qiyun exhaled in relief, though his expression remained grim.
Yelü Dongchuang, who had been observing the Spring Nabatu’s expression, felt a pang of disappointment. *If only Xu Fengnian had taken down those celestial beings—or better yet, killed Yelü Hongcai in one fell swoop.*
※※※
A figure in purple robes suddenly shot up from the distance, hurtling toward the pillar of light.
Baiyi Luoyang tapped the ground lightly, seizing Xuanyuan Qingfeng’s shoulder and slamming her back down. “Don’t,” she said coldly. “Your destiny is enough to dominate the martial world, but against the will of heaven? You’d be throwing your life away for nothing!”
Xuanyuan Qingfeng, already wounded from slaughtering eighty Northern Mang martial experts and breaking through a thousand-strong cavalry, spat blood and ignored the warning. Her energy surged as she prepared to rise again.
Luoyang landed beside her. “Trust me.”
Only then did Xuanyuan Qingfeng relent, her voice icy. “Third time’s the limit. Don’t stop me from killing that Northern Mang crown prince next.”
Luoyang scoffed. “Picking the perfect moment, aren’t you?”
But before Xuanyuan Qingfeng could move, Duanmao Dengmao appeared before them, blocking her path.
※※※
On the walls of Jubei City, a drumbeat heavier and more sorrowful than any before resounded.
Luoyang laughed aloud. “The winds of Great Qin rise!”
Within the pillar of light, the young man bearing heaven’s burden seemed to hear both the drum and the words of the Great Qin empress.
A woman in white mourning robes struck the drum once more, her voice breaking as she cried, “You are *not* allowed to die!”
Yet as the saying goes—when virtue rises one foot, vice rises ten. The four celestial enforcers stepped forward one by one, merging into the light.
With each step, the pillar’s power swelled.
Inside, Xu Fengnian’s cold blade began to shatter. His lips moved, though no sound escaped—not even to his own ears.
But he knew what he was saying.
Years ago, on a snowy night beyond Liangzhou’s borders, an old man had asked his eldest son, then acting as a coachman, if he could shoulder the burden.
The young man had nodded.
Now, Xu Fengnian straightened his back inch by inch.
His silent vow: *Xu Xiao, I promised you—I’ll carry it. Even if it breaks me.*
With every celestial step, the light grew stronger, yet despite swaying, he kept rising.
When Xu Fengnian finally stood upright, the last remaining celestial stretched out his arm. Instead of fading, he grasped a radiant spear and advanced.
Dengmao charged toward Xuanyuan Qingfeng.
Luoyang spun, intercepting a massive figure with crossed arms, barely holding against the impact.
The Peach Blossom Sword God, Deng Tai’a, flashed into the sky, his Tai’a Sword slashing toward the pillar in a strike that defined the limits of mortal skill.
The towering man who had repelled Luoyang made no move to stop him, merely stating, “Too late.”
The pillar vanished—but not before the celestial drove his spear through Xu Fengnian’s chest.
No blood spilled. The spear’s gleaming tip protruded from his back, blindingly bright.
The world fell silent.
Luoyang was the first to break it, whirling toward a distant figure. “Why?!”
For a moment, it seemed there were two of her—one solid, one ethereal—overlapping and separating. She had meant to split her spirit, one half intercepting Tuoba Pusa, the other shielding Xu Fengnian. But he had stopped her.
The young prince, head still bowed, gripped the spear and rasped, “Men’s business. Women stay out.”
The celestial finally dissipated, glancing at Tuoba Pusa, who gave a slight nod. Only then did he vanish with a smile.
Xu Fengnian snapped the spear, turned, and locked eyes with Tuoba Pusa.
Tuoba Pusa glanced at Deng Tai’a. “Will two of you be enough? If not, add those two women. I can call Dengmao off.”
Xu Fengnian ignored him, telling Deng Tai’a, “Take them away.”
The sword god frowned but finally said, “As you wish.”
Only then did Xu Fengnian shake his sleeves and address the Northern Mang’s War God. “Tuoba Pusa, I never met your parents.”
Then he delivered the second line.
“But I’ll beat you till they wouldn’t recognize you.”
Before the words faded, both men vanished.
Their battle would be one unseen in a thousand years.
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